Blues and BBQ festival Oct. 28 at Chehaw

ALBANY — The Flint River Blues and BBQ Festival, scheduled Oct. 28 at Chehaw, promises a day of soulful music and delectable barbecue, according to event organizers Tom and Patricia Swain.

“We are in the South, and the blues is Southern music, so what better place than the home of Ray Charles to do the Flint River Blues Festival?” fest organizer Tom Swain said. “I am a drummer and I played professionally for years, but now I am involved in the administration side of the music business, which brings me to things like the Flint River Blues and BBQ Festival. I guess the festival reflects my ambition to help Albany become a music town. It has a great potential for that. There just needs to be attention placed on it. Music/entertainment is an industry, and it needs developing and promoting.”

Swain moved to Albany during the 1980s and said that back then there was very little to do here.

“When I moved here in the early ’80s, I got off the road as a musician and there was very little to do,” he said. “I did a radio show for a while. That kind of changed my career goals from being a drummer. Now, it’s about redevelopment of this community. There have been a lot of industries that have left the South, so we need to do something to change that and replace those industries with industries that can help.”

According to Swain, the South has a great opportunity for economic development through music and tourism.

“Tourism is huge,” he said. “Music drives tourism. In the Sunbelt, the coastal southern states, there is a huge opportunity for entertainment development. Georgia is now the No. 1 movie production state in the world. We need to do that with music, too.”

To help drive that idea home, Swain, along with his wife, Patricia, organized the first-ever Flint River Blues and BBQ Festival, which will feature Mississippi blues guitarist Zac Harmon, along with several local and regional acts.

“Zac is a fantastic musician,” Swain said. “He is world-class. He has been a writer forever and a day, and we are very happy to have him. Zac is on his way to winning a Grammy. But, you know, we are pros, so everything we are going to do is going to reflect that. All of the artists featured at this festival are great at what they do.”

According to Swain, the Flint River Blues and BBQ Festival will not only feature great music, but also great food.

“We are having a barbecue cook-off as well,” he said. “So if you think your cooking has got what it takes, sign up.”

The festival kicks off Saturday at 8 a.m. and will be an all day event, Swain said.

Tickets are $20 at the gate but are available for $15 in advance online.

For more information, call (229) 344-9847 or visit www.flintriverbluesandbbq.com.